37 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 turnovers, 15-18 FG, 6-8 FT, 1-1 3P
Jonathan Givony
One of the most athletic players in the country may have just had his coming out party at the national level. On the road, against a nationally ranked team with one of the best frontcourts in the country, Thornton had the best game of his career so far in a Florida State uniform. And while this was the most hes scored so far, Thornton has been playing extremely well all season long and is long overdue for a spot in this column.
Against BC he did it as always in spectacular fashion; with emphatic dunks, being active all night around the glass and pulling up high for mid-range jumpers. It wasnt enough to come away with a win (FSU lost 90-87), but it should be a wakeup call telling people that one of the best players in the ACC resides in Tallahassee.
Thornton is about as close a player you will find to Hakim Warrick in todays NCAA. Hes an unbelievable leaper, tough as nails, incredibly active and long-armed, a bit on the skinny side and a definite tweener at this point for the NBA. You are not going to find a player with stronger legs anywhere in the country. Thornton shows an outstanding bounce and 2nd bounce getting off the floor to wreak havoc on both ends of the court, and is nearly impossible to keep off the offensive glass with his quickness and wiry frame. We are talking about an elite level athlete here who simply outquicks and outleaps everyone in the paint and grabs an exceptional amount of offensive rebounds, a characteristic that already makes him pretty intriguing for the NBA.
Only being 6-7 and without a very wide frame, there is little doubt that his future position for the NBA is on the wing. He is slowly getting there and surely looks farther along in his development in the perimeter skills department compared with Warrick at the same age, but still has plenty of work to do. His ball-handling looks good enough in open spaces, especially in transition or even leading the fast-break, and he can even pull-up off the dribble for a jump-shot if hes not being too closely contested. However in half-court situations he is still extremely raw, not possessing good enough range at the moment and making mental errors that stem from his inexperience and somewhat average feel for the game.
Word around Tallahassee even before his 37 point outing was that Al Thornton will almost certainly test the waters this year to gauge where his NBA draft stock sits at the moment. Being a 6-7 power forward, even though he is nothing less than an incredible athlete, its a bit difficult to see a scenario in which he could land in the 1st round already this year. Another season of working on his raw perimeter skills, possibly playing a bit more of the small forward position and maybe even winning a few more games or making the NCAA tournament behind another excellent recruiting class (led by Auburn transfer PG Toney Douglas) would definitely improve his draft stock.